Pound Cake

My cousin makes the best 5 flavor pound cake in the world. Today I decided to make one myself. As I was going through my choices of extracts and flavorings I realized I had more than the 5 listed on the recipe... lemon, butter, coconut, rum and vanilla. I also had raspberry, orange and cherry. I believe that all things considered dessert must contain at least some chocolate. So today I made an original version pound cake.... 6 flavors with a mini chocolate chip layer. We'll see how it turns out.... timer says 36 minutes...more to come....

The Solution

Olivia received a craft collection for Christmas. This was not our choice of gifts...mainly because it contained the most dreaded of all craft supplies... glitter glue. I can't even type that word without twitching. The inventor of this plague on humanity should be locked away. I mean really, glue mixed with finite bits of colored sand-like shards...who thinks that is a good idea?!
Well, Olivia loved it! For days we cleaned glitter glue off of tables and chairs and cups and plates and brushes and faces and fingernails and bookshelves and anything else that came in contact with the glitter glue princess. Finally, we could take it no more and hid what was left.At the beginning of each project she would ask for it and I would refuse. I knew I would eventually after to let her have it back. I dreaded that day. Then, the snow came. This beautiful gift from God became the perfect solution to the glitter glue issue.

Do you know just how much glitter glue it takes to create an argyle top and tutu skirt for a snowgirl?
It takes all the glitter glue in your house:)

"Gabriella" has a beautiful outfit and our house is once again a glitter-free haven :)

Snow

We had snow overnight. I just love snow and the excitement it brings

out in children...and adults as well :)

Merry Christmas

Santa left our stockings on his way up the chimney and apparently he wasn't very hungry as he only ate a couple of the cookies...and left the others half eaten :) waiting on the steps to hear to "go" which begins the charge into the living roomOlivia got an American Girl Doll....Rebecca

Alex has outgrown hotwheels and legos, he is in to fruit...apple in particular :)

Lucas asked Santa for a stuffed tiger. Joshua asked for Star Wars the Clone Wars legos.

Alex surprised the boys by giving them his legos and action figures. Now they won't have to sneak into his room to get them :)

The aftermath

Another Christmas morning has come. I pray your day is blessed and joyous!

By the way...if you look past us to the window you can see a little white. Yes, we had a dusting of snow for our Christmas morning!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A Savior which is Christ the Lord!

Someday

I love Christmas music. We have a local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 from Thanksgiving Day through Christmas night. I listen to everything from The Little Drummer Boy to I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. I love just about everything they play. The downside is that this is a secular station so they eliminate some of the most beautiful songs. For the truly Christ centered songs I turn to my tried and true collection of CD's. This year I have fallen in love with a song from Sandi Patty's last Christmas CD. The song is called Someday. It is sung like a lullaby from Mary to Baby Jesus. As a mother I remember nights of holding my newborns and wondering what life would bring for them. With the twins, I especially remember those nights because I feared their tiny bodies might not grow into the dreams I held for them. Now, looking back I realize what an amazing blessing I had to hold each of my babies and whisper prayers in their ears. That is probably why this song has come to mean so much to me. Imagine what Mary felt the first night she held her baby. Did she whisper the same prayers other mothers have whispered? Her son was to be the Savior of the World but still, in that time, in her heart He was simply her baby.

A bit of christmas

We are deep into the Christmas season. Lots of parties and events to attend. One of the biggest joys was watching our children in church programs. Olivia was fortunate enough to sing a special part in the children's program. Can I tell you...I cried the entire time. Not surprising, huh? This precious child opened her mouth and Jesus came shining through.

I hope to post more pics and videos of this holiday season, but today is a snow day here which means....I don't have time to sit at the computer because if I turn my head some snow-themed catastrophe is about erupt :) So that is all for now.

Would love to have been there

I absolutely love this video. Yes, I teared up and you better believe I stood up. The story goes like this...

The Wanamaker department store (now Macy's) in Philadelphia has a huge pipe organ in the atrium, spread over five floors or so. The pipe organ is played for weekly concerts. For this concert, 650 singers posed as shoppers, and when the organist played the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, they all started singing to the surprise of the regular shoppers. Must have sounded spectacular.